When sweet Rosie shared the loss of her daughter and plans for Christmas 2021, my heart broke for their family. We participated in her Margaret’s Stocking project last year. We prayed for their family. We thought of them often, long after Christmas, hoping that their hearts were healing.
Little did we know that we would be navigating a similar path for 2022.
And so I would like to borrow Rosie’s idea. Rosie filled Margaret’s stocking with slips of paper describing donations and gifts for their local pregnancy resource centers. This was a gift to all the babies who received help because of people’s generosity. But it was also a gift to their family, to know that her little life mattered. That Margaret’s little life was a source of good in the world.
Here’s our spin on the idea. We have a manger for baby Jesus, and some yellow slips of paper to be “straw.” If you donate in Joseph Patrick’s honor, email me at sweepingupjoy@gmail dot com and I’ll write your gift on a straw to add to the manger.
Two of our friends donated to a local pregnancy resource center in Joseph’s name, and it was so special to receive the notice that they did so. To see his name in print in their newsletter. It was a gift to us to know that because of Joseph, some mama out there was better able to care for her baby.
The places we highlight below are able to accept online donations and have wishlists that ship directly to them. Easy peasy.
Mary’s Choice has a wishlist for at Walmart. Click here to buy something off their wishlist.
The Alpha Center has an online wishlist. Click here to buy something off their wishlist.
And here are the places to donate online. Click here to donate online to Mary’s Choice.
Click here to donate online to the Alpha Center.
If you do something local to where you are, that’s wonderful, too. Tell them that Joseph sent you. And let us know so we can fill up the manger with happy thoughts of other babies.
Part of the immense sadness we feel is the knowledge that Joseph doesn’t need us anymore. There isn’t anything we can do for him. This project helps heal that hurt for us– to know that we can somehow play a part in providing for other babies.
Leave a comment or send an email with your gift in honor of Joseph, and we’ll get you added to the manger. Thank you for helping care for our hearts in this way.
With the cost of EVERYTHING going up this year, families with babies are in need now more than ever. Can you help?
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I donated for Joseph. Prayers for your family.
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Thank you, Mary! <3
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My kids wanted to do a secret Santa exchange this year, and lo! Guess who Graeme got? Me! 😉 G knows me really well though, so he used his money to make a donation to our local crisis pregnancy center in my name and in Joseph’s name too. Shared with love <3
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What a kind thing for Graeme to do. 😉 It means a lot, Sara. Thank you!
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